Like seriously people this should NOT be happening. We all know the Automobile could be a dangerous weapon and both pedestrians and motorists should just fuckn open up their eyes.

Quote:

They were simple moments – a trip to the grocery store to buy some chicken, and a late-night stroll in a familiar neighbourhood – that ended the lives of two GTA seniors.

The 75-year-old Mississauga man and 76-year-old Vaughan woman are the latest victims in a deadly spate of collisions that has seen nine GTA pedestrians killed in the past eight days.

Three of the nine pedestrians were senior citizens.

On Monday night, Charlie Woods, 75, was killed when an SUV struck him at Lakeshore Rd. W. near Briarwood Ave. The driver fled, but Peel police, acting on a tip, arrested 28-year-old Dominik Banka of Mississauga on Tuesday.

Hours earlier, on Tuesday afternoon, a 76-year-old woman had been hit by a van while carrying a bag of chicken breasts across Rutherford Rd. near Highway 400. The driver was uninjured. York Region police Sgt. Steve Kempster said he was "concerned by the busy start to the year" for pedestrian fatalities.

"Sometimes it's the fault of the pedestrian and sometimes it is the driver," he said, as officers collected the woman's groceries from the road. "You're always going to lose against a vehicle."

On Jan. 12, the day the grim trend began, Nouhad-Nicholas Al-Kassouf, 80, of Toronto, died trying to cross a large Y-shaped intersection with her son at Roncesvalles Ave. and Dundas St. W. The same day, an 83-year-old woman allegedly ran a red light, killing 28-year-old Marites Mendoza, who had been pushing her 7-week-old son across Martin Grove Rd.

Eight of the nine were hit by vehicles, one by a train. Four deaths involved large vehicles making a turn, one a red light, and another was blamed on a confusing intersection.

On Tuesday, police said it wasn't clear if Woods was in the crosswalk when he was hit. Witnesses said the SUV that struck him went through a stop sign as it turned west.

"He was the most wonderful, beautiful man," said Barbara Gale, a clerk at a nearby bargain store, who knew Woods and his dog Lucy as regular fixtures in the neighbourhood.

York police were still investigating the Rutherford Rd. collision Tuesday evening but didn't believe charges were likely.

Kempster, of the traffic reconstruction unit, said the 76-year-old woman began crossing the six lanes of Rutherford Rd. when traffic was stopped, but the light turned green before she had reached the other side. Cars idling in the two left lanes waited for her to finish, but an approaching van in the third lane didn't see her, Kempster said.

"We can't tell you when she entered the crosswalk or how long it took her," Kempster said, adding witnesses to the accident should contact police.

"We don't know what transpired, maybe she dropped something and stopped to pick (it) up in the middle."

Kempster said the 29-year-old driver of the van was shaken.

Aircon Mechanical Systems, the Newmarket air conditioning company that owned the van, declined to comment.

Bonnie MacDonald, who crosses Rutherford Rd. every day to get home from work, said it is difficult to cross in time, especially with cars coming off Highway 400.

"I usually have to hustle and I'm not a slow walker," she said. "They need to reprogram it."

"I think what needs to be looked into is whether vehicle operators are making pedestrians nervous by trying to take turns too quickly," he said, adding he believes Tuesday's two pedestrian deaths were likely preventable.

Saundercook advises seniors in his ward to make eye contact with drivers while crossing streets, wear bright clothing and keep an eye on the crossing sign timer.

His committee has asked Toronto Traffic Services to make recommendations for pedestrian safety at the committee's next meeting Feb. 10.

With files from Raveena Aulakh

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Photos
A woman, 76, was hit and killed by a vehicle on Rutherford Rd. Jan. 19, 2010.

CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR

More Photos

Charlie Woods, 75, died in a hit-and-run in Mississauga Jan. 19, 2010. He was a "wonderful, beautiful man," said a friend. Police have arrested a 28-year-old man in the mishap.

I read the star earlier today and they essentially lambasted drivers for pedestrian deaths.

While a tragedy none the less, I have seen many instances where the pedestrian is just as to blame. For instance, one guy I almost hit because he had his head down while programming his ipod and was coming in between parked cars by the university. I honked to let him know I was there and I was yelled at for not paying attention. No, no. If I wasn't paying attention you would've died.

I read the star earlier today and they essentially lambasted drivers for pedestrian deaths.

While a tragedy none the less, I have seen many instances where the pedestrian is just as to blame. For instance, one guy I almost hit because he had his head down while programming his ipod and was coming in between parked cars by the university. I honked to let him know I was there and I was yelled at for not paying attention. No, no. If I wasn't paying attention you would've died.

And cyclists, believe they're automobiles yet refuse to obey the laws of the road.

Everyone sucks.

First off many thanks for correcting my horrible grammar on the title.

The gentleman who wrote that article in the star has been known as an automobile hater so I'm not surprised by his comments. He did make a good point that no one is really making a big deal of these deaths. That bothers me.

Personally I don't know how you really stop a pedestrian for being stupid. I know in calgary you get a HEAVY fine for J walking and that I'm ok with. In terms of intersections unfortunately it should mostly be under the burden of the motorist. Pedestrians like crossing the street with 5 seconds left, continue walking out crossing the intersection at a red light etc etc etc. Unfortunately for the most part the car should take responsibility in most cases.

I find I pedestrians will help out motorists in certain situations. I have seen this done and its great. However more decipline has to be taken on both sides.

Pedestrians don't look. They think they're immortal or something, or that it's just the drivers job to pay attention. Especially in busy plaza's, people are coming in and out of stores looking at what they bought rather than looking both ways.

it's as much an urban plannig issue as anything else. most of our streets were designed when we had no idea at what speed and with what power cars would eventually be hurtling around. buldings get built too close to the street for any expansion, and sidewalks are becoming more and more crowded. in the end you get big, powerful cars in tiny little lanes, with no places for bikes and only crowded sightlines for pedestrians. trouble.

Pedestrians don't look. They think they're immortal or something, or that it's just the drivers job to pay attention. Especially in busy plaza's, people are coming in and out of stores looking at what they bought rather than looking both ways.

I agree with palza's. Its expected if i back out of my spot their will be some stupid person having the balls to just walk right behind my car

the blame can go both ways... and it all boils down to people in general.
people (pedestrians and drivers) pretty much think they own the road, crosswalk, parking lots, etc.
they drive around not thinking about other drivers... they walk around not thinking about their safety...
its fucked.
try honking at someone for doing something dangerous or for cutting you off.... i guarantee you get the finger back from them.
just like CG saying he was yelled at for honking at a pedestrian to warn them to pay attention. what did he get in return? an ear full.
people always think they are right and that others are wrong.. they never want to admit any wrong doing and its always about them.
people in general is what to blame.

I'm a pretty cautious pedestrian because I think most drivers are downright terrible.

I've been hit by a car before and luckily I saw it coming so I managed to jump up (it was an suv) and take it head on instead of getting sucked under....There was nothing I could do at the time...

I was crossing the street at a light with the little walk sign on...Guy was taking a right and not paying attention..happened too fast for me to do anything especially because he did a rolling stop.

Roads are in favor of moving traffic at the detriment of pedestrians. There is a light I have to wait 3 or 4 minutes for every morning just to walk across 2 lanes of traffic.

The infrastructure of the city is so bad that drivers don't wait for pedestrians and they are always in a rush to "get ahead" because things are so poorly planned out.

Just notice the little things that you can see at every stop light in the city, right now:

1) Speeding
2) Running red lights
3) Rolling stops on a right hand turn
4) Left hand turns that can ONLY really occur when the light turns yellow and 3 or 4 cars try to squeeze through.
5) People moving to the right hand lane at the light when they aren't turning right and blocking cars that would turn right, creating further backlogs.

Not too mention that many areas of the city waste an entire lane providing parking for stores and restaurants. It's insane.

Someone needs to fix this up big time because it's making it unsafe. Pedestrians are trying to get where they need to go with the deck stacked against them and Drivers are trying to get where they need to go while avoiding stop and go traffic.

When you have everyone crammed together acting unpredictibly this is what happens. Whole place is fucked.

I was almost destroyed in Toronto once, by a woman who accelerated turning right at a light, without looking to her right. It was magical though, the way I dodged her car. I jumped and cleared her whole hood. People applauded. I had a nervous breakdown. Back when I was young and agile.

like Aar, the same thing happened to me while crossing the street, i was almost hit by a lady making a right hand turn. i was walking with a GF at the time and this lady almost nailed us both.... and she was oblivious.
i was with the GF and felt very protective, so i punched the lady's car, i may have dented it - i was pissed.
obviously, the lady had no clue why i punched her car, so she stopped in the middle of the street, got out of her car to yell profanities at me... my GF then flipped out on her and she jumped back in her car and drove off.
it was awesome. however, i knew right then and there that i wouldnt be able to break up with this girl or she may freak out on me... i was afraid.
ever see a hot chick lose it and go bananas? they lose all of their hotness.

anyway, the lesson for this post is to suggest that Ontario ban right hand turns on red lights... just like how it is in Quebec and in the states.
it should be done, pronto!

In some states, including California and New York, a right turn on red is prohibited when a red arrow is present.

In Canada, one is allowed to turn right on a red, only after a complete stop, unless a sign states otherwise. In the province of Quebec, turning right on a red was illegal until a pilot study carried out in 2003 showed that there were no significant adverse effects of the right turn on red maneuver. Subsequently the province of Quebec now allows universal right turn on red, except where it is prohibited by a sign. However, due to locally specific safety concerns, it remains illegal to turn right on a red anywhere on Montreal Island . Motorists are reminded of this via large signs posted at the entrance to all bridges.

I was almost destroyed in Toronto once, by a woman who accelerated turning right at a light, without looking to her right. It was magical though, the way I dodged her car. I jumped and cleared her whole hood. People applauded. I had a nervous breakdown. Back when I was young and agile.

Next thing you know he's going to start ripping on all of us for our inability to jump cars...

I'm a pretty cautious pedestrian because I think most drivers are downright terrible.

Just notice the little things that you can see at every stop light in the city, right now:

1) Speeding
2) Running red lights
3) Rolling stops on a right hand turn
4) Left hand turns that can ONLY really occur when the light turns yellow and 3 or 4 cars try to squeeze through.
5) People moving to the right hand lane at the light when they aren't turning right and blocking cars that would turn right, creating further backlogs.

The left hand turns scare the nuts out of me ... I hardly ever turn left until the light is yellow/red because I'm just waiting for some idiot to run the red.

The thing with the right hand lane ... what if you're someone who is going to turn right eventually (i.e., in the next light or two) and you get into the right lane early (yes, that's me)? It's unfortunate that other cars are blocked, but I would rather get in my lane early than have to fight my way into that lane later (and I mean fight ... a lot of drivers that I have encountered don't let me into their lanes).

It was night time and they were wearing dark clothing.... and there is next to no lighting there and they were WALKING ON THE ROAD..... didn't even see them until I was right there. Missed by about 2 feet. I was furious.